Apple has announced a new program through which businesses with up to 500 employees can access tools that can be used to manage, secure, and repair a variety of the company's products.
The program, set to debut in spring 2022, is called Apple Business Essentials. Its primary appeal seems to be the introduction of Collections that "enable IT personnel to configure settings and apps for individual users, groups, or devices." That way new employees (or people receiving new devices) simply have to sign in to their accounts to gain access to the tools they need to do their jobs.
Apple says the program also prevents employees from turning off security measures such as FileVault disk encryption or the anti-theft Activation Lock feature "by mistake." Apple Business Essentials will also tap User Enrollment, which "creates cryptographic separation for work data, to ensure employee data remains private while company data remains secure."
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The program also offers employees professional iCloud accounts to sync and back up their files. Apple says that businesses can enroll their employees' devices in an AppleCare+ for Business Essentials plan to "get 24/7 access to phone support, training for both IT administrators and employees, and up to two device repairs per plan each year."
Collections and AppleCare+ for Business both rely on the new Apple Business Essentials app. Apple says the software will automatically be installed on enrolled devices so employees can download apps via Collections or initiate repairs for their devices. Administrators will also be able to use the dedicated app to manage users, devices, and settings.
Apple says that Apple Business Essentials is available now as a free beta. After launch the company expects to charge varying amounts per user based on how many devices they have, how much iCloud storage they're using, and whether or not they've opted into the AppleCare+ for Business Essentials plan; prices are said to start at $2.99 per user per month.